This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

36201

Vol. 63, No. 127

Thursday, July 2, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[FV–97–329N]

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned Beets, United States

Standards for Grades of Canned

Carrots and the United States

Standards for Grades of Canned White

Potatoes

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) is revising standards for

grades of canned beets, carrots, and

white potatoes (canned root crop

vegetables). Specifically, USDA is

modifying the Recommended Minimum

Drained Weight Averages (RMDWA’s)

for all styles packed in No. 300 size cans

to be equivalent to the percent water

capacity corresponding to the closest

sized container, the No. 303 can, i.e.,

reduced by 9.02 percent. These changes

were requested by industry in order to

improve the usability of the U.S.

standards for these canned root crop

vegetables. In addition, USDA will

further improve the standards and

promote consistency by changing the

format of the tables to incorporate a

column for the water capacity of each

container size and add metric system

tables to the canned beets and canned

carrots standards.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 3, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Chere L. Shorter, Processed Products

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Room 0709,

South Building; STOP 0247, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

Telephone (202) 720–4693, fax (202)

690–1087; or e-mail

cherelllshorter@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act

of 1946, as amended, directs and

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture

‘‘to develop and improve standards of

quality, condition, quantity, grade, and

packaging and recommend and

demonstrate such standards in order to

encourage uniformity and consistency

in commercial practices * * *’’ AMS is

committed to carrying out this authority

in a manner that facilitates the

marketing of agricultural commodities

and makes copies of official standards

available upon request. The United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets, the United States Standards for

Grades of Canned Carrots, and the

United States Standards for Grades of

Canned White Potatoes (canned root

crop vegetables) do not appear in the

Code of Federal Regulations but are

maintained by USDA.

The current U.S. grade standards for

these canned root crop vegetables, along

with the changes, are available either

through the above addresses or by

accessing the Internet at the following

site: www.ams.usda.gov/ standards/

vegcan.htm.

Procedures for revising, suspending,

or terminating voluntary official grades

standards were published in August 13,

1997, (62 FR 43439).

In November 1993, USDA received a

request to review the RMDWA’s for

these canned root crops in No. 300 size

containers from the National Food

Processors Association’s (NFPA)’s Grade

Standards Review Subcommittee. NFPA

requested the changes in the United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets; Canned Carrots; and Canned

White Potatoes.

NFPA requested that the

recommended drained weight of the No.

300 size container be reviewed for all

styles of canned root crop vegetables.

Within the last few years the canning

industry has been replacing production

of the No. 303 container size with the

No. 300 container. The total water

capacity for the No. 300 container is less

than the total water capacity for a No.

303 container. The percentage water

capacity, on which the recommended

minimum drained weight average is

based, is calculated by dividing the

RMDWA for a particular style of canned

root crop vegetable by the total water

capacity of the container. Studies done

by the USDA have found that for every

style of canned root crop vegetable

under consideration, in the current U.S.

standards, the drained weight as a

percentage of the water capacity is

significantly more for the No. 300

container than for No. 303 containers,

even though the available capacity of

the No. 300 container is 9.02 percent

less than that of the No. 303 container.

NFPA stated that several companies

were noting difficulty in meeting the

RMDWA requirements for these

products in the No. 300 cans. The

remedies recommended by NFPA

proposed that the RMDWA’s in the U.S.

grade standards for canned beets;

canned carrots; and canned white

potatoes be reduced to the same

percentage water capacity offered in the

No. 303 container size, i.e., lowered by

9.02 percent. The No. 303 can size was

chosen because the size relationship is

closest to the No. 300 can.

USDA published a notice in the

Federal Register January 15, 1998, (63

FR 2356). Five comments were received

from industry members. All comments

received indicated that the affected

industry members were in favor of the

revision to base the RMDWA on the

percent water capacity of the No. 303

container.

Accordingly, AMS agrees with the

recommendations to improve the United

States Standards for Grades of Canned

Beets; Canned Carrots; and Canned

White Potatoes and is making changes

to and adding the following tables:

Canned Beets, Table I, adding Table IA,

Canned Carrots, Table I, adding Table

IA, and Canned White Potatoes, Table I

and Table IA. Specifically, the changes

will: (1) Adjust the RMDWA’s for No.

300 containers which were calculated

using the percentage water capacity

corresponding to No. 303 containers and

lowered accordingly by 9.02 percent of

the RMDWA of the 303 size container;

and further improve the standards and

promote consistency by (2) changing the

format to include tables that will

incorporate the water capacity of each

container size; and (3) adding metric

system tables to the canned beet and

canned carrot standards.

The changes will become effective 30

days after the publication of this notice

in the Federal Register. These changes

will improve the grade standards by

making RMDWA’s proportional for the

No. 300 can size, enhance safety of the

product, and help to facilitate the
36202 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 127 /Thursday, July 2, 1998 / Notices

marketing of canned beets, carrots and

white potatoes. This will allow for a

more equitable marketing environment

for the canning industry.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

Dated: June 24, 1998.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–17563 Filed 7–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

National School Lunch, Special Milk,

and School Breakfast Programs;

National Average Payments/Maximum

Reimbursement Rates

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the

annual adjustments to: (1) the ‘‘national

average payments, ‘‘the amount of

money the Federal Government

provides States for lunches, meal

supplements and breakfasts served to

children participating in the National

School Lunch and School Breakfast

Programs; (2) the ‘‘maximum

reimbursement rates,’’ the maximum per

lunch rate from Federal funds that a

State can provide a school food

authority for lunches served to children

participating in the National School

Lunch Program; and (3) the rate of

reimbursement for a half-pint of milk

served to nonneedy children in a school

or institution which participates in the

Special Milk Program for Children. The

payments and rates are prescribed on an

annual basis each July. The annual

payments and rates adjustments for the

National School Lunch and School

Breakfast Programs reflect changes in

the Food Away From Home series of the

Consumer Price Index for All Urban

Consumers. The annual rate adjustment

for the Special Milk Program reflects

changes in the Producer Price Index for

Fluid Milk Products. These payments

and rates are in effect from July 1, 1998

through June 30, 1999.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert M. Eadie, Chief, Policy and

Program Development Branch, Child

Nutrition Division, FNS, USDA,

Alexandria, Virginia 22302, (703) 305–

2620.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

action is not a rule as defined by the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601–612) and thus is exempt from the

provisions of that Act.

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507),

no new recordkeeping or reporting

requirements have been included that

are subject to approval from the Office

of Management and Budget.

This action is exempted from review

by the Office of Management and

Budget under Executive Order 12866.

National School Lunch, School

Breakfast and Special Milk Programs are

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance under No. 10.553, No. 10.555

and No. 10.556, respectively, and are

subject to the provisions of Executive

Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR Part

3015, Subpart V, and the final rule

related notice published at 48 FR 29114,

June 24, 1983.)

Background

Special Milk Program for Children

Pursuant to section 3 of the Child

Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended (42

U.S.C. 1772), the Department announces

the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint

of milk served to nonneedy children in

a school or institution which

participates in the Special Milk Program

for Children. This rate is adjusted

annually to reflect changes in the

Producer Price Index for Fluid Milk

Products (Code 0231), published by the

Bureau of Labor Statistics of the

Department of Labor.

For the period July 1, 1998 to June 30,

1999, the rate of reimbursement for a

half-pint of milk served to a nonneedy

child in a school or institution which

participates in the Special Milk Program

is 13.00 cents. This reflects an increase

of 4.65 percent in the Producer Price

Index for Fluid Milk Products (Code

0231) from May 1997 to May 1998 (from

a level of 135.4 in May 1997 to 141.7 in

May 1998).

As a reminder, schools or institutions

with pricing programs which elect to

serve milk free to eligible children

continue to receive the average cost of

a half-pint of milk (the total cost of all

milk purchased during the claim period

divided by the total number of

purchased half-pints) for each half-pint

served to an eligible child.

National School Lunch and School

Breakfast Programs

Pursuant to Sections 11 and 17A of

the National School Lunch Act, (42

U.S.C. 1759a and 1766a), and Section 4

of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, (42

U.S.C. 1773), the Department annually

announces the adjustments to the

National Average Payment Factors and

to the maximum Federal reimbursement

rates for meals and supplements served

to children participating in the National

School Lunch Program. Adjustments are

prescribed each July 1, based on

changes in the Food Away From Home

series of the Consumer Price Index for

All Urban Consumers, published by the

Bureau of Labor Statistics of the

Department of Labor. The changes in the

national average payment rates for

schools and residential child care

institutions for the period July 1, 1998

through June 30, 1999 reflect a 2.75

percent increase in the Price Index

during the 12-month period May 1997

to May 1998 (from a level of 156.3 in

May 1997 to 160.6 in May 1998).

Section 704(b) of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104–

193, enacted August 22, 1996, amended

section 11(a)(3)(B) of the National

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a

(a)(3)(B)) and changed the method for

computing the annual adjustments to

the national average payment rates for

meals and supplements served to

nonneedy children. Effective July 1,

1997, the annual adjustments to the

payment rates for paid meals under

Section 4 of the National School Lunch

Act (42 U.S.C. 1753), and Section 4 of

the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

U.S.C. 1773) and paid supplements

under Section 17(c) of the National

School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(c)),

authorized under Section 11 (a)(3)(B) of

the National School Lunch Act, is

rounded down to the nearest whole

cent. The annual adjustments to the

Section 4 payments for free and reduced

price meals and to the Section 17(c)

payments for free and reduced price

supplements, were unchanged by P.L.

104–193 and are rounded up or down to

the nearest one-fourth cent.

Lunch Payment Levels

Section 4 of the National School

Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753) provides

general cash for food assistance

payments to States to assist schools in

purchasing food. The National School

Lunch Act provides two different

Section 4 payment levels for lunches

served under the National School Lunch

Program. The lower payment level

applies to lunches served by school food

authorities in which less than 60

percent of the lunches served in the

school lunch program during the second

preceding school year were served free

or at a reduced price. The higher

payment level applies to lunches served

by school food authorities in which 60

percent or more of the lunches served